


Return

by LilacPrince



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Drowning, Mermaids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 09:55:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21372241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacPrince/pseuds/LilacPrince
Summary: When Ryoma is lost at sea his siblings refuse to believe he's dead, and search the seas tirelessly. Takumi is the one who finally finds him, but his brother is very different than how Takumi remembers him.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Return

**Author's Note:**

  * For [waltzing_marionettes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/waltzing_marionettes/gifts).

> *Arrives six months late to mermay with a cup of tea and angst* sup?

Merfolk weren't born, they were created. 

Anyone who dared to brave the sea was fair game. Some were pulled from the ships, some were victims to storms, some were thrown overboard. But they all ended up in the water, in the claws of merfolk. 

There were many tales about how exactly a mermaid was created. Some said it was through venom in the merfolk's teeth, biting harshly through the skin and tearing the flesh. Some said it was through kisses, as the merfolk breathed in the breath of the sea into a human, making them able to breathe underwater. Some said it had to do with sexual intercourse. It all depended on who you asked, and who you chose to believe. 

The merfolk themselves were very hostile to humans, and could just as likely feed on the drowning sailors as to turn them into one of their own. That was something Takumi could testify to himself, with the marks after claws on his arms and face as proof. His shirt had been torn into ribbons, and the rest of the sailors had quickly pulled him back, away from the merman who was still caught in the net, lying on the ship's deck. The merman hissed, his fin twitching as he tried to free himself, his dark eyes glaring with hatred through the wet strips of long brown hair. The marks on Takumi's body were deep, and even as Oboro and Hinata had quickly drenched his wounds in vulnerary he would always have white thin scars left on his skin. He couldn't bring himself to be mad at Ryoma, though. He understood how frightening it must be for his poor older brother. 

This did complicate things however. When Takumi had set out to find his older brother that had been lost at sea, he hadn't anticipated to find him with a fin and amnesia. Or as hostile as he was. Takumi had decided to put him in the tub, which was really his only option for keeping Ryoma submerged in water, but it had been difficult for the crew to drag a big, heavy and very angry merman there. Many more bottles of vulnerary had been needed.

Takumi had been sitting in his quarters, looking at the white porcelain tub where his older brother had been placed, for hours as he thought back to all the tales of merfolk he had been told as a child. That they lost all memories of their lives as humans seemed to be true, though Takumi had no idea what else was true. According to the legends merfolk could split their fin into a pair of legs if they were out of water for enough time, and Takumi was hoping that was true. If they could, then maybe he had a chance of getting Ryoma back. Maybe Ryoma could somehow learn to live on land again... if only his memories returned. 

"Please remember to keep your claws in check when we return, brother. Mother won't like it if you rip her clothes", Takumi said as he got up from the chair. He undid his hair tie as he walked up to the mirror, combing through his hair with his fingers so that his hair was lying properly. The merman in the tub was quiet, but Takumi didn't expect a reply. Apart from hissing Ryoma hadn't said anything since they had caught him, and now he was apparently sulking in the tub. Takumi glanced at the tub in the mirror's reflection. The tub wasn't big enough for Ryoma, and the end of his fin was hanging over the edge. Ryoma had opted to keep his head underneath the water's surface, and Takumi wasn't certain if Ryoma was ignoring him or just couldn't hear him. The fin twitched in annoyance whenever Takumi spoke, however, so maybe he could hear him. 

Takumi glanced down at the white thin scars on his arm. The things he did, the things he endured, for his older brother. 

"Sakura will be overjoyed", Takumi said, in futile hope the name would bring at least a faint memory back to Ryoma. It hurt that they had all been forgotten. "She was so sad and scared when she thought we had lost you for good, you know. Try to be nice to her too, will you? I can take a hit or two, but Sakura is more fragile than I am." 

The fin twitched once more. 

Takumi had been talking to him for hours now, all since he had been dragged into Takumi's quarters, and the sun was already down. Takumi was slowly making himself ready for bed, hoping to catch a least an hour or two of sleep. He dearly wished he could get at least one word out of Ryoma before the sleep took him, but it seemed more and more futile. Ryoma was angry at him, and if he understood what Takumi was trying to tell him about their family than he either didn't believe it or he didn't care. 

With a sigh Takumi tied his hair tie around his wrist, like always, and walked over to his bed to change into his nightshirt. Just as he picked up the nightshirt a noise was heard in the nightair that made Takumi stop in his tracks. Takumi glanced at the open window in his quarters, frowning slightly. Singing?... 

The night guards had never sung during their shifts before, so the noise struck Takumi as a bit odd. The song was deep, alluring, serene. It sounded far off, yet close. Beyond the ship, but not far away from the ship. Which in itself was impossible. Was someone of the fleet's night guards, on a different ship?... 

It wasn't only one person singing, either. It was multiple singers, and when Takumi stuck his head out through the open window the song seemed to surround him. He still couldn't see who it was that was singing, but the song seemed to wrap itself around Takumi, a deeply comforting melody that made Takumi want to fall into the melody, let it wrap itself around him completely. His head was starting to feel heavy... 

It took a while for Takumi to notice that another voice had been added to the singers now, and he didn't notice how he gravitated towards this new singer until he was standing leaned over the tub in his quarters, staring down at Ryoma. Ryoma's head was above water now, and instead of the hateful glares his face now had a soft, serene look to it. He was singing gently, his voice shrouding Takumi in the warm melody. Takumi's head wasn't working anymore, and he softly looked down at Ryoma. For some reason he really wanted to get into the tub, into the water, and he slowly leaned over, closer, closer, wanted to fall into that deep melody. 

A scream pierced the nightair, closer than the singing. It was right on the deck, and it was quickly followed by more screams. But Takumi barely even noticed. He pulled up one leg and placed it in the edge of the tub, wanting to get closer. 

It was only when Ryoma stopped singing that Takumi's senses returned and he realised that the screaming outside was alarming, but by then it was already too late. Two strong arms wrapped themselves around Takumi's neck, and Ryoma pulled Takumi into the water. Takumi landed on his side, breathing in water and coughing, kicking as the water splashed around him. His hands found the edges of the tub and he pulled himself up enough to get a quick taste of air. Before Takumi could start processing what had just happened a hand closed over his mouth, and he was harshly pulled back down. His back was pressed against Ryoma's chest, one of Ryoma's arms wrapped around his shoulders, keeping him in place, and the other hand covering Takumi's mouth. Takumi barely had the chance to breathe in before his head went underwater again. 

He jerked his head, trying to pull himself up, but Ryoma's grip on him was stronger than iron. As Takumi realised he wasn't able to breathe and couldn't get up panic hit him. It made his chest seize up, and he tried to scream against Ryoma's fingers. He trashed his head around, kicking his legs, his fingers clawing on Ryoma's arms. The surface was moving, the water splashing around above him, but the water around Takumi's face was unforgivingly still and solid. No matter how much Takumi trashed and kicked and screamed the water continued to press against his face, and Ryoma remained as still as a statue, his unrelenting grip keeping Takumi underneath the surface. 

Takumi's feet kicked, the heels on his boots and his knees hitting against the sides of the tub. If he hadn't been panicking he would have felt the bruises forming on his skin, but in his state of panic Takumi was barely able to think or be aware of anything else than that he needed air. He needed air, he desperately needed air, his lungs were burning, his throat aching, as he desperately tried to cry out in fear and panic. Tears escaped his eyes, tears of panic as well as tears of pain as he slowly realised that Ryoma was trying to drown him. His beloved big brother, who he had been searching tirelessly for, that he had finally found and had been so overjoyed to be reunited with... was keeping him underwater, no matter Takumi's screams and thrashing. 

As Takumi's kicks slowed, his strength leaving him, his lungs and throat burning like fire at the lack of oxygen, he became faintly aware of singing. It was different than the singing he had heard before. It wasn't the deep, dark, alluring song that had beckoned him before. This song resounded around him, underwater, bouncing between the walls of the tub. As Takumi's pained muscles slowly gave up, he recognized the voice as Ryoma's. It was a soft, melancholic song, sung softly as the grip around Takumi's mouth eased up. 

Takumi tried once more to push himself up out of the water, but the arm around his shoulders was still unmoving. Fingers were running through Takumi's hair, as Takumi's lungs gave up and he opened his mouth, taking an involuntary breath, breathing in the water. It hurt terribly, the water filling his mouth and windpipe. His vision was blurry as he trashed around a little more, the panic bringing back some fight to his tired muscles, but it quickly faded. 

There was still screaming outside. Takumi could hear it now, ever so faintly above the surface. But it was drowned out by the soft singing that vibrated in the water, the soft and sad melody hugging Takumi, as fingers ran through his hair. Tears escaped his tired eyes as his vision faded, his conscience slipping away, the darkness taking him. During his last moments all he could make out, everything he was aware of, was Ryoma's soft singing.

_Cruel and cold, like winds on the sea_   
_Will you ever return to me?_   
_Hear my voice, sing with the tide_   
_My love will never die_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are highly appreciated!  
Song used here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_LApFnTfP8


End file.
